1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus which processes augmented reality information, an image processing method, an image processing system, and a storage medium storing a program thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, augmented reality techniques for displaying and superimposing augmented information on a video or an image of real space captured by a camera are widely used. The augmented reality techniques associate an AR content, which is an image or a video that provides augmented reality to an object in the real space, with an image feature quantity included in the captured video or image, and then display and superimpose the AR content on the captured video or image.
Especially, in recent years, utilization of an AR content that can be reproduced is enhanced. An AR content can be reproduced by associating the AR content with an image feature quantity of a paper document or a marker printed on the paper document and then capturing an image of the paper document with a terminal having an imaging function. If there are two or more documents when an AR content is used in this manner, the documents are associated with each other in many cases. If two or more AR markers or image feature quantities exist in the real space where an image of documents has been captured, there is a need for expressing the relationship between the documents using an AR content.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-26818 discusses a technique by which when two or more AR markers exist in the captured image of real space, the display of an AR content can be changed according to a combination of the AR markers defined in advance. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-141779 discusses a technique by which if two or more AR markers of the same exist in the captured image of real space, an AR content different from the one displayed when each of the AR markers is separately viewed can be displayed.
According to the above-described techniques, defining a combination of feature information such as markers in advance allows the display of an AR content to be changed according to the combination, when two or more pieces of feature information exist in the captured image of real space.
However, both of the above-described techniques require pre-definition of a combination of feature information. Thus, associating an AR content with each combination of feature information is difficult when the number of pieces of feature information is great. Further, only one display style can be associated with each combination of feature information.